Damion James had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Augustin powered a 14-0 run starting the second half for top-seeded Texas (27-5), which also sprang an uncharacteristic zone defense that confused the Cowboys.
“We had to slow the whole team down,” said Augustin, who led the Big 12 in assists for the second straight season and was second in scoring. “We needed to get stops.”
Top-seeded Texas, which shared the regular-season title with Kansas, will play Oklahoma today in a semifinal. The Sooners beat 12th-seeded Colorado 54-49.
Ibrahima Thomas had 19 points for Oklahoma State, which trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before taking a 33-32 halftime lead on Terrel Harris’ 3-point basket at the buzzer.
But the Cowboys (17-15) faltered as Augustin took over after intermission. After hitting a 3 on Texas’ first possession, he coaxed a third foul against OSU point guard Byron Eaton and sank both free throws. A few seconds later he seized a Cowboys pass that was deflected to him by a teammate and dished to A.J. Abrams for a layup.
With the Cowboys having trouble against the 2-3 zone, Abrams scored again a moment later and then Augustin boosted the lead to 44-33 with his fifth 3-pointer.
The Cowboys went almost 8 minutes at the start of the second half without a field goal. Nevertheless, the zone does not come easy for a team that’s known for its man-to-man defense, Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
“It’s hard for us right now because we’ve been a pretty good man team,” he said. “We just felt like we were getting what we needed out of it.”
After regaining the lead and momentum, the Horns went back to man.
“At the 7-minute mark, I thought we had gotten into a walk-it-up game with them and we don’t want to do that,” Barnes said.
It was the Longhorns’ fifth straight victory over Oklahoma State.
“We lost again to another great basketball team,” Cowboys coach Sean Sutton said. “They found a way to make plays down the stretch and that’s what great teams do.”
Texas took a 56-43 lead on Connor Atchley’s bucket and seemed ready to cruise home. But Harris made a 3 and the Cowboys, cold from beyond the arc, then drilled three more from long range during a 12-2 spree that cut the Longhorns’ lead to 58-55.
James then sneaked inside for a layup and Justin Mason, following an Oklahoma State turnover, made it 62-55 with 2:17 left.
Muonelo had 13 points for Oklahoma State, which was only 9-of-31 from beyond the arc and now will hope for an NIT bid.
Much of the first half was a shooting contest between James and Thomas.
James, a 6-7 sophomore, drilled his first five shots, including his first three 3s. But Thomas, a 6-11 freshman, practically matched him, making five of his first seven field-goal attempts and both his 3s.
